Dr. Jody Heymann, an internationally renowned researcher on health and social policy at McGill University in Montreal, has been appointed the new dean of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.
A pediatrician by training, Heymann leads the first global initiative to examine the impact of health and social policies on individuals, families and communities in all 193 countries of the United Nations.
Her appointment will take effect Jan. 1, 2013, according to an announcement made today by UCLA Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Scott Waugh. A professor of epidemiology and of political science at McGill, Heymann will succeed Linda Rosenstock, who decided to step down as dean on July 1 after nearly 12 years of leadership.
"Public health offers tremendous tools with the capacity to make a difference in the lives of people in California, in the United States and around the world," Heymann said. "I couldn't be more thrilled to join the faculty, students and staff at the Fielding School of Public Health as we work together with others at UCLA and across the local and global community to tackle crucial issues at home and abroad."
Heymann holds a B.A. in history and physics from Yale University, and an M.D., M.P.P and Ph.D. in public policy from Harvard University.
She is the founding director of the Institute for Health and Social Policy at McGill and holds a Canada Research Chair in Global Health and Social Policy. She is also founding director of the WORLD Global Data Centre, where she leads an effort to analyze how health and social policies affect the ability of people in UN member countries to meet health, educational, economic and other needs.
In addition, Heymann directs McGill's Healthier Societies Initiative, a program investigating approaches to controlling health costs while improving health outcomes in the countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
At McGill, Heymann has led the development of a unique multidisciplinary undergraduate and graduate training program that bridges research and policy development, enabling students from more than 40 departments to gain experience in 28 countries.
At Harvard University (1989–2008), she chaired the Project on Global Working Families and held faculty appointments at the schools of public health and medicine — in the departments of society, human development and health; health and social behavior; social medicine; and health care policy.
Heymann has authored and edited more than 200 publications, including "Children's Chances" (Harvard University Press, forthcoming); "Making Equal Rights Real" (Cambridge University Press, 2012); "Protecting Childhood in the AIDS Pandemic" (Oxford University Press, 2012); "Lessons in Educational Equality" (Oxford University Press, 2012); and "Profit at the Bottom of the Ladder" (Harvard Business Press, 2009).
Deeply committed to translating research into policies and programs that improve individual and population health, Heymann has worked with government leaders in North America, Europe, Africa and Latin America, as well as a wide range of intergovernmental organizations, including the World Health Organization, the International Labor Organization, UNICEF, UNESCO and the UN's Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
She has served as chair of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Education Systems and vice-chair of the Global Agenda Council on Education and Skills. Her research has been presented to heads of state and senior policymakers around the world.
She has been featured on CNN Headline News; MSNBC; ABC's "Good Morning America"; Fox News; and National Public Radio's "All Things Considered," "Fresh Air" and "Marketplace." Among the publications in which she has been cited are the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, Businessweek, Forbes and USA Today.
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